Apple CEO Tim Cook repeatedly threatened to pull Uber’s app from the App Store after it discovered that the ride-hailing company secretly tracked iPhone users, according to emerging reports.

The New York Times reported that Uber secretly used the “fingerprinting” technology to track iPhones even after their owners deleted the Ube rap.

The report also claimed that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was summoned to Apple's Cupertino campus for a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Cook over the issue in 2015. Mr. Cook reportedly told Uber chief that Apple takes its privacy rules very seriously.

Responding to the report, Uber argued that it did nothing wrong. It claimed that the use of the “fingerprinting” technology was just to detect and prevent fraud.

Denying wrongdoing, Uber said, “We absolutely do not track individual users or their location if they've deleted the app. As the New York Times story notes towards the very end, this is a typical way to prevent fraudsters from loading Uber onto a stolen phone, putting in a stolen credit card…”

It is not the first time when Uber has been slapped with dubious-sounding behavior allegations. Late last year, some users alleged that the Uber app tracked them for weeks after they last used the ride-hailing service.